Idaho State Land Rules Hazy
About Recreation On Range

BOISE, Idaho —(AP)— The leader of a motorized off-road vehicle group wants the Idaho Land Board to make it clear state land leased to ranchers and farmers is open to all forms of recreation, not just hunting and fishing.

Clark Collins of Pocatello, executive director of the BlueRibbon Coalition, said recently that the language in grazing and cropland leases on state land requires that the land remain open to the general public for hunting or fishing.

But he said the lease language indicates nothing about other forms of recreation, such as use of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles, even though the Land Board's own policy requires lessees to allow the general public to use the lands for outdoor recreation.

Collins told Land Board members that has led to confusion, even among state land managers in the field, about whether recreation beyond hunting and fishing is allowed on leased state land.

"I think we all agree that this is a proper concern, and one that we all share in," Gov. Phil Batt, the five-member Land Board's chairman, told Collins. "We'll work with you to make it work."

Almost 2.5 million acres of state endowment land are potentially available for some form of recreation use. And Department of Lands Director Stan Hamilton said his agency recognizes the growing demand for public access to that land for recreation as Idaho's population grows.

In fact, grazing and cropland lessees already must get written permission from the state before closing leased land to recreation uses.

But Attorney General Al Lance pointed out that giving unrestricted access to motorized off-road vehicles could lead to interference with calving, lambing or other livestock operations on leased grazing land. Unlike recreational users, grazing lessees pay for their access.

Collins said his group would be happy to work with the Lands Department on a policy aimed at avoiding that kind of conflict.

"We just want to avoid a situation where just the possibility of interference would prompt broad-scale closures," he said.

Collins also urged the Land Board to publicize its policy to make it clear state lands generally are accessible to the public.

"We regret that certain organizations have successfully misled the public on the department's generous recreation and access policy," he said in a statement presented to the board. "We suggest that the department take the steps needed to correct the public's misperception."